More from McGill in the Headlines

We’re still a long way from understanding the causes of autism, but new research has shown some brain developmental issues even as early as 6-12 months in a baby, can be related to autism symptoms later in life.

Op-ed by Suzanne Fortier, principal and vice-chancellor of McGill University; Meric Gertler, president of University of Toronto; Santa Ono, president and vice-chancellor of University of British Columbia.
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There have been a few attempts, and a few failures, when it comes to low-budget airlines in Canada. But it might be time for a success. That’s because Canadians are more used to the model now, says Karl Moore, associate professor at the Desautels Faculty of Management at McGill University.
Read more: Global News

“This is a hot new frontier in both science and bioethics. And it seems likely to remain contested for the coming years,” says Jonathan Kimmelman, a member of the bioethics unit at McGill University, in Montreal, and a leader of an international organization of stem-cell scientists.
Read more: Technology Review

"On Friday, the social networking giant officially announced the opening of an artificial intelligence research lab in the city. The lab is headed by Joëlle Pineau, a McGill University professor who specializes in a field of artificial intelligence called reinforcement learning."
Read more: Montreal Gazette

Two of Canada's top artificial intelligence experts are joining Facebook Inc., the latest in a string of renowned Canadian academics in the hot technology field to go to work for Silicon Valley giants. Joelle Pineau, associate professor of computer science at McGill University and co-director of its Reasoning and Learning Lab, will lead a new Montreal-based AI lab for the Internet giant, which employs 105 researchers at similar labs in Paris, New York and Silicon Valley....

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so you have to say something that’s worthwhile rather than just recycling the usual liberal clichés,” he said. “As for that first sentence, I chose it deliberately. This whole experience has been deeply humbling. I see it as a gift of acceptance, part of the work in progress of becoming a Canadian.” - Payam Akhavan
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Op-ed by Sébastien Jodoin, assistant professor in the Faculty of Law and Hamish van der Ven, assistant professor in the School of Environment and the Department of Political Science at McGill University.
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Because of its large collecting area, wide observational bandwidth and cylindrical design, CHIME can see some thousand times more sky at any given moment, Victoria Kaspi, an astrophysicist and director of McGill University’s Space Institute in Montreal, told me. “Once CHIME is fully operational, it can do this 24/7, whereas other telescopes have many different observing programs,” said Kaspi.
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The discovery was made using radio telescopes at the Low-Frequency Array (LOFAR) in the Netherlands. Ziggy Pleunis, co-author of the findings published in The Astrophysical Journal Letters, who is now a PhD student at McGill University, told CBC News.

The radio telescope is a joint project of scientists from Canadian universities including the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, McGill University and the National Research Council of Canada. The large structure is nestled in the mountains of B.C. at the Dominion Radio Astrophysical Observatory near Penticton.

"New scientific developments may explain your friend's irritating British accent she picked up after studying abroad in London. McGill University linguist Morgan Sonderegger and colleagues Max Bane and Peter Graff published a new study in the journal Language that examines how accents can change in a group of people living in a confined environment over three months."
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